What Royal Oak Residents Need to Know About Arts, Beats & Eats

The Facebook page says: "Arts, Beats & Eats is this weekend! Estimated economic impact to the region $39 million." But what is the effect on Royal Oak residents?

Terri Garrett lives within earshot of the festival. While she can hear the bands, it's not really a problem for her.

"It's more annoying to hear people downtown talking loud on the weekends," she said. "That's more distracting."

Parking wasn't much of an issue last year either, Garrett said, although she did hear rumblings from a few out-of-town folks who parked on side streets.

"They got tickets," she said. "It's only $15 to park in an official lot and the money goes to charity. I say 'just pay it.'"

For residents who have questions about parking, noise, public safety and street closures, following is a list of frequently asked questions from artsbeatseats.com.

Arts, Beats & Eats FAQs

1. Do we have to worry about outside festival patrons parking in neighborhoods? Within an approximate one half to one mile radius from the festival all parking in neighborhoods is on a permit parking only basis and police will be issuing $50 fines as a deterrent. Residents may report problems to Royal Oak Police, who also have the option to tow vehicles if resident parking problems are an issue.

2. What time will the bands stop playing? All bands on local stages stop at 11 p.m. Friday through Sunday and 9 p.m. Monday. All bands on the national stage run until 11:30 p.m. on Friday through Sunday and until 9 p.m. on Monday.

3. What streets will be closed for the festival? Washington between Second and Lincoln, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Lincoln streets between Lafayette and Main, and Center Street between Third and Seventh Street. (See attached PDF).

4. When do downtown festival streets close? Most streets close for festival setup at 6 p.m. on Wednesday and reopen at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 7. The following streets will remain open at all times around the festival: Lafayette to the west, 11 Mile to the north, Main Street to the east and Lincoln to the south.

5. Will police be patrolling neighborhoods and providing traffic services? Royal Oak Police will have representatives patrolling neighborhoods for parking violations and unruly behavior. Report any concerns at any time to Royal Oak Police.

6. Do the taxpayers have a direct cost burden in hosting the festival? The cost of Royal Oak police and firefighters will be covered from parking revenues, which are expected to more than cover all costs. There is the possibility that police and fire expenses don’t get covered in case of bad weather or poor attendance and resulting low parking revenue.

7. Has the City of Royal Oak written a check to Arts, Beats & Eats to help with expenses? The City of Royal Oak has not directly, but the Royal Oak Downtown Development Authority has supported the city with an annual contribution of $100,000. These funds will also be returned to the DDA once they have repaid the City of Royal Oak for expenses. The DDA investment is expected to support an event that will bring millions of dollars of business into the downtown during Labor Day weekend, and was supported unanimously by the DDA in a 7-0 vote.

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